As the silver blade found its mark, the world seemed to tilt. Anjali's body went limp, her hands sliding off Aryan's neck as her strength vanished. 

Her head fell back, her eyes fluttering as they struggled to stay fixed on the man she had just reclaimed.

Aryan's heart stopped. The victory, the reunion, the joy—it all turned into ash in a single second. He caught her before she could hit the floor, his hands trembling as he pulled her tightly into his chest.

"H-hey... h-ey... Jaan? Jaan, aankhein kholo!" Aryan's voice was a frantic, broken mess. 

He pressed his hand against the wound in her back, but the warm, thick crimson was already staining his fingers, soaking into the white marble of the Mandap.

"Anjali! Mujhe dekho! "

A few feet away, Dev stood frozen. The silver knife slipped from his blood-slicked fingers, clattering onto the floor with a hollow ring. 

His eyes were wide, vacant, and filled with a sudden, horrifying clarity.

He looked at his hands, then at the girl bleeding in Aryan's arms.

He had spent four years obsessing over her, killing for her, and building a world around her—only to be the one to destroy her.

 He had stabbed his own "Gulaab." His knees hit the ground, a choked, pathetic sound escaping his throat.

The sight of Dev's face triggered something demonic inside Aryan.

He gently laid Anjali's head on a velvet cushion from the Mandap and stood up. 

He didn't look like a man anymore; he looked like a force of nature fueled by pure, unadulterated vengeance.

He lunged at Dev, his roar shaking the very foundation of the house.

Aryan didn't use a weapon. He used his bare hands, raining down blows with a mechanical, bone-breaking precision. 

He smashed Dev's face into the floor, then hauled him up by the collar only to headbutt him back down.

Dev didn't even fight back; he was a broken shell, staring blankly at Anjali as his teeth were shattered and his ribs cracked under Aryan's boots.

"Aryan! Ruk jao! Aryan, woh mar jayega!" Reeva screamed, finally breaking free from the shock.

 She ran forward, throwing her weight against Aryan's arm, trying to pull him back. 

"Aryan, chhodo use! Voh mar jayega!"

"Isey marna hi chahiye!" Aryan bellowed, his eyes bloodshot and wild. He raised his fist for a final, lethal strike to Dev's temple.

"ARYAN!" Reeva yelled, slapping his arm to get his attention.

"Anjali ko dekho! Usey tumhari zaroorat hai!"

That stopped him. Aryan's fist stayed suspended in the air. 

He looked back at Anjali's pale, still form and then at the pathetic, breathing corpse of Dev Singhania.

He let go of Dev's collar, letting the monster's head thud against the floor. Dev just lay there, staring at Anjali with a haunting, silent gaze, his mind finally snapped.

"Aryan, jao yahan se!" Reeva urged, her voice urgent as the distant wail of police sirens began to echo through the hills of Rishikesh.

"Police aa gayi hai. Main sab sambhal lungi. Main bata dungi unhein ki kya hua. Tum Anjali ko leke jao! Usey hospital pahunchao warna tum usey sach mein kho doge!"

Aryan didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled back to Anjali, scooping her up into his arms.

 She felt so light, so fragile. He tucked her head against his shoulder, ignoring the searing pain in his own body.

"hold on jaan..hmm sab theek ho jayega," he whispered into her ear.

He ran through the wreckage of the house, stepping over the floral decorations and the bodies of the guards, his only focus the woman in his arms.

Behind him, Reeva stood in the center of the slaughterhouse, the sirens getting louder, as Dev remained on the floor, a broken king in a palace of blood.

AT HOSPITAL;

Aryan carried Anjali through the hospital corridors, his feet leaving a trail of blood and soot on the sterile white tiles. 

His voice cracked as he roared, his desperation echoing off the walls, 

"Doctor! Koi hai? Doctor! Meri biwi... ise bachalo! Please!"

Nurses rushed forward with a stretcher, and for a split second, Aryan didn't want to let go. He felt that if he released her, she might vanish again like a ghost.

 But the urgency in the doctors' eyes forced him to lay her down. He watched, paralyzed, as the double doors of the Emergency OT swung shut, the red 'Surgery' light flickering on like a cruel reminder of the fire they had just escaped.

Aryan slumped into a cold metal chair, his head falling into his hands. His palms were still damp with her blood.

 Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the silver blade and heard her voice.

"Aryan! Anjali kaisi hai?"

He looked up to see Jay and Reeva sprinting toward him, their faces pale with shock.

 Aryan couldn't speak; he simply pointed a trembling finger toward the operating room. He looked like a man who had been through a war—and in a way, he had.

A nurse approached him with a tray of antiseptic and bandages. 

"Sir, you are also injured please come with us so we can treat you."

Aryan didn't even look at her. His eyes were glued to the OT doors. 

"Jab tak meri biwi aankhein nahi kholegi, main koi treatment nahi karaunga."

"But sir, infection ho sakta hai. Aapki halat theek nahi hai," the nurse insisted.

Aryan raised a blood-stained hand, his voice low and final. 

"Maine kaha na... nahi. Jab tak woh andar hai, jab tak voh andar hai mai kuch nhi karaunga"

The nurse sighed, sharing a worried look with Jay before leaving. Jay stepped closer, his voice soft. 

" aapko kara lena chahiye. Injury kaafi hai... aapko bahut dard ho raha hoga."

Aryan let out a hollow, dry chuckle that sounded like breaking glass.

"Ye dard? Ye dard kuch nahi hai... mere dil ke dard ke saamne ye zakham toh kuch bhi nahi hain. Chaar saal tak main zinda laash bankar raha hoon. Aaj jab woh mili, toh maut ne phir se use chheen-ne ki koshish ki. Jab tak wo sahi-salamat bahar nahi aati,mai yaha se hilunga nhi."

Jay sat down beside Reeva, the weight of the day's trauma finally hitting them. 

He looked at Reeva, his hand twitching. He wanted to reach out, to hold her hand and tell her it was okay, but he hesitated, clenching his hand into a fist instead.

"Tum theek ho?" Jay whispered, his voice thick with repressed fear. 

"Kya zaroorat thi wahan akele jaane ki? Mujhe ek baar bol diya hota... agar tumhe kuch ho jata toh?"

Reeva looked at Jay's clenched fist and then at his worried face. 

She reached out, covering his fist with her own hand, forcing him to relax.

"Agar main nahi jaati Jay, toh shayad aaj hum yahan nahi hote," she said softly, her eyes returning to Aryan.

"Aryan ki halat dekho. Usne sab kuch daanv par laga diya tha. Maine toh bas wahi kiya jo ek dost ko karna chahiye. Par tum..." she paused, looking into Jay's eyes.

"Tum itna kyun dar rahe ho? Main theek hoon."

Jay looked away, his jaw tight.

"Tumhe khone se dar lagta hai mujhe"

Aryan didn't hear them. He was in his own world of shadows. He kept replaying her last words in his head over and over.

 'I love you, Aryan. Humesha se... humesha ke liye.' He didn't know yet if it was a real memory or just a dying confession.

He didn't know if she truly remembered the house in Delhi, their daughter, or the life they built.

 He was terrified that if she woke up, she might go back to being Jhanvi, or worse, she might not wake up at all.

"Please, jaan" he whispered to the silent hallway. 

"Ek baar... bas ek baar wapas aa jao. Advika tumhara intezar kar rahi hai. Main tumhara intezar kar raha hoon. Don't leave us in the dark again."